This almost NEVER happens to us...

The teams we cheer for seemingly never win the title.  Sure, there have been occasional blips on the screen. The Phillies have given us two in 45 years: 1980 (when we were in the 7th grade) and 2008 (when we woke up The Playmaker, who was six, and sat him on our lap so he could watch Brad Lidge strike out Eric Hinske).  And the 76ers won it all in 1983 (freshman year in HS) when Moses predicted they would roll, fo, fo, fo.  Oklahoma won in 1985 (The Boz was a redshirt sophomore) and 2008 (In Stoops We Trust). And Louisville got us one in 1986 (think: Sweet V, errrr, Milt Wagner).

But that's it.  The 76ers have sucked since then.  The Eagles had some really good teams, but always came up short -- usually due to the inept coaching of Andy Reid.  The Phillies are now old.  Stoops has lost his way.

But we tacked another skin on the wall last week.  As we predicted, Michigan gave us almost more than we could handle.  Yet, as we also predicted, Louisville dug down deep and hopped on the back of Our New Hero, Luke Hancock.

Randoms:

1. We've never seen Peyton Siva play a better game in his four year career!  For once in his life he said, "Eff it!  I'm NOT taking the outside shot.  Instead, I'm going all playground and taking the ball to the rack."  Time and time again he got to the tin.  The few times he didn't finish, his Brother Bigs (namely Chane Behanan) were there to convert his misses.  We've abused Siva, especially the past two years.  We tweeted time and time again that Louisville could not win a championship with him as their point guard.  But it turns out they couldn't have won without him.  Much like Hancock earned his place in Cardinal folklore, so too has Silva.  In the most important game of his career, he played his best game ever.

2. Luke Hancock!  He's our all time favorite Card, along with the aforementioned Milt Wagner.  He's the type of kid you want your son to be, or your daughter to bring home.  He's selfless.  He's a leader.  He's just a good kid.  Google what he's going through with his father and you'll want to hug him.  Replay the video of when Kevin Ware shattered his leg.  While everyone else (including Rick Pitino) was freaking out, cringing and turning away, Hancock went right over to Ware.  He put his hand on his chest and immediately began talking to him. Seriously, we'd take this kid home in a second and raise him as our own.  On the court, his game is precious.  He shoots an old fashioned set shot.  He's slow on offense, yet he beat defenders to the hoop the entire Final Four.  And he's become a very good defender -- something we couldn't have said even six weeks ago.  Pitino has told the world, "When Luke got here, he'd never been in a defensive stance before."  (As such, he's now the role model for the slow and defensively challenged Playmaker.)

3. Chane Behanan!  Yes, he still is soft on the defensive glass.  But, man, did he own the offensive glass Monday night.  That, along with the fact Michigan had no defensive answer for him in the paint, was nearly as big as the Siva/Hancock factors.  Now we just need him to come to his senses and realize the NBA is not fond of 6'7" power forwards leaving after their sophomore year.

4. The Fab Five! We respect two of the five.  Juwan Howard always kept his mouth shut in college and has carved out a nice NBA career by working hard. Ray Jackson, was never all that good, but he too kept his mouth shut and was content in the shadows of others in Ann Arbor.  Chris Webber?!?  Total fraud. Cried poverty at Michigan until it came out years later his family was actually well off.  Sucked as a 76er.  Blamed everyone but himself for the fact he could no longer play at any level of respectability.  Jalen Rose?!?  A flat out punk in college.  Now he's magically transformed himself into an ESPN talking head. Too bad he's a homer and someone who's afraid to say anything remotely critical. Jimmy King?!?  He sucked as a player, which is no crime.  What was a crime was the fact that he fancied himself a hall of famer.  Literally.  And when Michigan lost big games, which the Fab Five seemingly always did, he was a total baby.  Who will ever forget Bobby Hurley torching the Michigan Men, only to have Pu$$y King label him after the game as nothing more than "average."